Brace yourself for a prolonged spell of cold weather in the run-up to Christmas as temperatures are forecast to drop lower this December than previous few years.

Current long-range forecasts indicate cold splurges of air from the Arctic will force thermometers to dip below normal across the UK for the first three weeks of the month.

Forecaster Amy Hodgson, of The Weather Channel , said this winter will be colder than the past few years with snow around the UK.

The forecaster added: "There is currently high confidence that temperatures will remain below normal across Europe through the next 15 days.

“A negative North Atlantic Oscillation is likely to persist, bringing a cold northerly flow into Europe.

"Although we expect more cold incursions of air into the UK than previous years, we cannot comment on whether it will be the coldest, just yet."

According to the meteorologist, the country will become stuck in between a block of high pressure in the Atlantic and an area of low pressure in the North Sea allowing freezing Arctic winds to sweep southwards toward Britain.

Snow is expected to fall mainly on high ground, but wintry showers are also predicted to potentially reach lower levels at times, meaning we could maybe even see a white Christmas .